CaltechAUTHORS
Published March 2016 | Version Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

A 60-million-year Cenozoic history of western Amazonian ecosystems in Contamana, eastern Peru

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier
  • 2. ROR icon National University of La Plata
  • 3. ROR icon National Scientific and Technical Research Council
  • 4. ROR icon Géosciences Environnement Toulouse
  • 5. ROR icon Structure et Instabilité des Génomes
  • 6. ROR icon University of Oslo
  • 7. ROR icon Case Western Reserve University
  • 8. ROR icon Norwegian Geological Survey
  • 9. ROR icon Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
  • 10. ROR icon Goethe University Frankfurt
  • 11. ROR icon Museum of Paleontology Egidio Feruglio
  • 12. ROR icon Field Museum of Natural History
  • 13. ROR icon Centro Científico Tecnológico - Mendoza
  • 14. ROR icon Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
  • 15. ROR icon American Museum of Natural History
  • 16. ROR icon Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
  • 17. ROR icon National Museum of Natural History
  • 18. ROR icon Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Abstract

We provide a synopsis of ~ 60 million years of life history in Neotropical lowlands, based on a comprehensive survey of the Cenozoic deposits along the Quebrada Cachiyacu near Contamana in Peruvian Amazonia. The 34 fossil-bearing localities identified have yielded a diversity of fossil remains, including vertebrates, mollusks, arthropods, plant fossils, and microorganisms, ranging from the early Paleocene to the late Miocene–?Pliocene (> 20 successive levels). This Cenozoic series includes the base of the Huchpayacu Formation (Fm.; early Paleocene; lacustrine/fluvial environments; charophyte-dominated assemblage), the Pozo Fm. (middle + ?late Eocene; marine then freshwater environments; most diversified biomes), and complete sections for the Chambira Fm. (late Oligocene–late early Miocene; freshwater environments; vertebrate-dominated faunas), the Pebas Fm. (late early to early late Miocene; freshwater environments with an increasing marine influence; excellent fossil record), and Ipururo Fm. (late Miocene–?Pliocene; fully fluvial environments; virtually no fossils preserved). At least 485 fossil species are recognized in the Contamana area (~ 250 'plants', ~ 212 animals, and 23 foraminifera). Based on taxonomic lists from each stratigraphic interval, high-level taxonomic diversity remained fairly constant throughout the middle Eocene–Miocene interval (8-12 classes), ordinal diversity fluctuated to a greater degree, and family/species diversity generally declined, with a drastic drop in the early Miocene. The Paleocene–?Pliocene fossil assemblages from Contamana attest at least to four biogeographic histories inherited from (i) Mesozoic Gondwanan times, (ii) the Panamerican realm prior to (iii) the time of South America's Cenozoic "splendid isolation", and (iv) Neotropical ecosystems in the Americas. No direct evidence of any North American terrestrial immigrant has yet been recognized in the Miocene record at Contamana.

Additional Information

© 2015 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier. Received 5 July 2015, Revised 23 October 2015, Accepted 5 November 2015, Available online 12 November 2015, Version of Record 16 February 2016. We are much indebted to the editors of Gondwana Research, M. Santosh, and T. Horscroft, for inviting this review. Two anonymous reviewers have provided interesting and constructive remarks. We are particularly grateful to the Canaan Shipibo Native Community and Maple Gas Peru S.A. for granting access to the field, and to the IRD-PeruPetro Convention Programme for logistic support. We thank warmly our guides Manuel and Manuel, Joaquin Sanancino, their families, and whoever helped us in the field and in the lab. This article is dedicated to the memory of Eduardo "Aldo" Musacchio. This work was supported by CNRS 'Eclipse 2', CNRS 'Paleo2', Toulouse University 'SPAM' programs, by ANR-08-JCJC-0017 (PALASIAFRICA) program, by the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (Bonn), and by an "Investissements d'Avenir" grant managed by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CEBA, ANR-10-LABX-25-01). POA, PB, CJ, LM, and RSG designed research. POA, SA, AJA, PB, GB, YC, DAC, CJ, LM, MJO, FPu, MR, JVT-L, and RSG participated in the fieldwork. POA, AA, SA, AJA, GB, MB, AC, JC, DAC, CJ, SK, LM, REN, FPa, MEP, FPu, JCR, AR, CR, JVT-L, JVJ, FPW, and RSG helped with taxonomic identification and specimen illustration. POA, PB, YC, and MR measured the sections. FC and MG performed radioisotopic datings. POA, FC, CJ, LM, REN, FPa, MR, FPW, and RSG wrote the manuscript. This is ISEM publication 2015-236 SUD.

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
116198
DOI
10.1016/j.gr.2015.11.001
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20220810-751578000

Funding

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Toulouse University
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)
ANR-08-JCJC-0017
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)
ANR-10-LABX-25-01

Dates

Created
2022-08-11
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2022-08-11
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)
Other Numbering System Name
ISEM
Other Numbering System Identifier
2015-236 SUD